Atlantix2000

You are probably booked under UK/European rules then (not sure if those are same/different) which are more restrictive due to better consumer protections laws. That's good for you in some ways but bad in others. I think lack of repricing is one of the bad side effects but I'm not certain.

One other consideration, once you book in a foreign currency/site, will that effect your choices in cruise planner for excursions/dining/etc? Those may also need to be purchased in the foreign currency with different rules for repricing/cancellation. Does Royal run the same type of cruise planner sales in other countries? If those currencies fluctuate, will the excursions change prices in a way that negates the savings on the cruise itself? Lots of fun questions!

They will honor your new Diamond status, but only if you speak up. Normally, points take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks after a cruise to post to your account. So at the start of your second cruise, the ship's computer system won't know you are Diamond. As Patty said, talk to the Loyalty Ambassador during the first cruise so they are aware you are crossing the point threshold. They will update the ship's local computer system so you will be treated as Diamond even though the main corporate system won't show it yet.

Why? Orlando Sanford International Airport is a bit NW of Orlando FL. It's only 15 miles further than flying into MCO in Orlando itself.

I assume like most airports, you will disembark at a gate so the restaurants should be right there when you get off the plane. Of course, the price will be higher for anything at the airport but if that's not a concern, just have breakfast in the gate area. If you don't claim your luggage by the time they want to use your assigned baggage carousel for a different flight, airport staff will just move your luggage to a customer service area (usually somewhat centrally located in baggage claim). You will need ID and your baggage claim tickets to claim luggage from there. I actually had to do this in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago. We weren't even that slow getting from the gate to the claim area but for some reason our flight was already off the carousel.

I am 100% confident that's a graphic error (possibly something to do with the image being a composite of several layers where one layer didn't adjust properly after being zoomed). The reason I say this is look further down your image to room 7192 - 7202. You can see the faint lines between the rooms and the lines of the balconies don't match up at all. I guarantee the ship isn't built that way.

Maybe it's just how you are phrasing it that strikes me as odd, but neither the band or the card are used in any way while on the water slides. Both are only used for opening your cabin door and paying for things. Both can get wet so they are safe to carry on the slide, but you can also just leave them on your lounge chair with the rest of your belongings. In my opinion, the only situation where the band is notably better than the card is when your hands are full while walking up to your cabin door. Then the band can get the door unlocked as long as you can lean on the handle to get the door open. Beyond that, it's a toss up.

The point is they aren't as convenient as they sound. If you have to take the band off to pay for a drink, they aren't really a better option, just a different option.

It totally depends on supply and demand. If there are a lot of 4 person cabins available but the 2 person cabins are almost sold out, then the 2 person cabins will rise in price. That's just how dynamic pricing works. They could easily sell out the entire ship with a single set price per person, but they'd rather sell out with the maximum possible profit. They also don't want to sell out too early because some people book very last minute and they can charge pretty much whatever they want for those because you either have to pay or not go (and someone will pay). There's plenty of threads here with more in depth analysis. Yes, it sometimes produces weird results like the "you pick your cabin" being cheaper than a "we'll pick your cabin" (also known as Guarantee bookings or GTY) when there's only a small number of GTYs left on the ship. Nobody has to like it, but Royal is currently enjoying great success financially so it's clearly working.

Are you sure you're booking the EXACT SAME cabin in this comparison? It's highly unlikely that you are. Cabins for 2 and cabins for 4 are generally different sub-categories. And yes, those sub-categories will have different pricing due to different levels of demand. The proper comparison is a cabin for 4 (2 adults with 2 kids) vs a cabin for 4 (4 adults). Then, even if you have managed to get Royal's website to let you book a cabin that sleeps 4 people for only 2 people, of course it will be more expensive on a per person basis. If Royal lets you leave beds empty, then they are giving up the extra revenue those missing passengers might have spent on board. To make up the difference, they would have to charge more for that cabin.

Yes, financially your credit card will temporarily have both bookings but that's only a problem if you card is going to cycle before the refund comes through. Most of the time there's no real effect on your money. If you always do all your booking using the same person's account, you are correct you can't see available times until after you cancel. But you aren't required to name everyone on a reservation so use that to your advantage. Use your travel partner's account to check available times and book the new reservation, then cancel your reservation.

On Royal's website, if you search for all sailings on Navigator, you'll see there's a 4 night cruise on Feb 12, 2024, then nothing until April 12, 2024. That suggests she's in dry dock for almost 2 months but is back in service a month before your cruise.

If it is a balcony cabin, then yes it's a valid outcome for a balcony GTY. Having an obstructed view doesn't change whether it is a balcony cabin. But it does make it less likely that those who paid to pick their room would choose it. The GTY bookings save money but get the leftovers. Changing staterooms is a separate consideration. Yes it's also possible. Sometimes a cabin becomes unavailable (maintenance issue or a few other reasons) so you get moved. That can happen whether you are a GTY or a normal booking. As others mentioned, it's always possible to call and change cabins if there are any available in your specific category.

Wow really? That news didn't hit this thread, did I miss it in another thread on the site? Seems like some of those affected above would have commented here.

That would depend on what drink you are adding the floater to. Not all drinks are $14 (though it's probably the cost for most blender drinks where floaters are common). That's just the per drink limit of the package. Without a package, the total cost would be drink cost plus shot cost. With a package, for drinks less than $14, you would just pay the shot cost and for drinks over $14, you would pay the overage plus the shot cost. That's my understanding.

Not sure what you mean by "my son" in this context. I'm not aware that children or social security numbers (SSNs) are listed on marriage licenses (and that's the only 2 ways I can think of to interpret what you've said.) Either way, the marriage license/certificate is an acceptable document to connect your different last names. Your old ID from FL is not useful at all. There's plenty of threads here from others who have used traveled after marriage. Just use the search bar at the top if you want more details.

While I see your point, that's not at all an example of bait and switch. Royal advertises that you get free drinks in the lounge. You got free drinks in the lounge. Believing or assuming you should also get free drinks anywhere else is on you.

The beverage packages are good no matter where you are on the ship (bar or restaurant) so yes you can get glasses of wine with dinner (up to the current $ limit, and pay the difference if over the limit).

You do realize that I wrote "months ago", months ago? I believe the cruises in question still haven't started. The ships are still scheduled to be in the Mediterranean and that is unlikely to change for early 2024 cruises. They won't sail to Israel but the possibility of changing ports is part of the cruise contract that every passenger signed. For a 2025 cruise, there's simply no reason for any cruise line to change their schedule yet. There may be no active war there in 2025 and the cruise will go on as scheduled. At this point, only you can decide if you are willing to wait and see or pay to change.

The best way to think of My Time Dining is that it works like any normal land based restaurant. You can walk in and put your name on the wait list or you can make a reservation. But in either case, the wait is somewhat unpredictable because other diners sometimes stay longer than expected. Like any restaurant the closer you want to eat to the most popular times, the harder it is to get exactly what you want. What time is most popular on a cruise ship is also somewhat unpredictable depending on whether it's a port or sea day and whether there are activities and shows at the same time.

Since there's no way for the factory to know what time zone the laptop will ultimately be used in, the initial setup process for the operating system should prompt you to update your time zone. That same step should also have asked you to confirm you want automatic time updates enabled and what time server to use. (Generally, everyone is just going to think "huh?", click OK to use the default, and then forget they were even asked because it will just work). Having the correct time (to within acceptable network travel times) is a requirement for a secure login system. When computers disagree about the time, the security assumption is that there could be another computer in the middle intercepting, looking at, possibly modifying, and then re-transmitting the data. So rejecting your login is the correct behavior for a secure website. Unfortunately, Royal's website didn't provide a useful error message to let you know what was wrong. It's a good thing your employer's website was more helpful. If I was in a position to help you with your computer, I would have wasted countless hours looking at this and I'm not even confident I would have been able to figure this out!

Dynamic pricing causes strange effects. Sounds like certain categories were closer to sold out than the algorithm expected at this point. And even if the programmers noticed, I'm sure they'd consider it too much work to prevent such things from happening. Just means we have to pay attention to make sure we always get the best deal!

Here's an article on the stop in Spain - Picked up the 10,000 plants for Central Park since Finland has such a different climate. Used the dry dock for Azipod repairs, and updates to box coolers and sea chests. (Whatever that means). https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/12/royal-caribbeans-icon-receives-10000-plants-in-spain/

You don't really get any choice in the time of year. Royal's ships don't keep going back and forth across the ocean. They only cross each way once per year so that a ship could spend the summer in the Mediterranean and the winter in the Caribbean (for example).

Think of it like having one and only one credit card. You can use that credit card up until the day it expires. After that, it's a piece of plastic that says "I used to have this credit card". Can you bring that credit card (with no cash) on a trip when it expires the day after you return? Yes. However, what if you were delayed coming home for a week for some reason? Oops, you have no credit card to pay your expenses for that week. Your credit card company usually sends you a new card a few months before the old one expires so you don't end up in this situation. How does this relate to passports? It's exactly the same process except YOU have to ask for the new passport. The government doesn't just send one to you.